Trading activity on the Malta Stock Exchange was relatively subdued when compared to the previous sessions, however, the positive bias was nevertheless driven by buyers whose selective purchases helped the Index close higher by 0.5 per cent to see the Index close at 4,276 points.
HSBC Bank Malta was the day's most liquid and actively traded equity with a grand total of 11,190 shares being exchanged across 16 transactions.
The equity commenced trading at a slight discount to Wednesday's closing price, however, by the end of the session fresh demand saw the equity move higher by 5c or 1.3 per cent to close the day at €3.90.
Bank of Valletta continued to consolidate at the €5.00 level with 2,705 shares traded across three transactions. At the end of the session, 1,000 shares were best bid at €4.925 while 1,337 remained outstanding on the offer side at €5.02.
International Hotel Investments, the third largest listed equity, gained a further four-tenths of a cent as two investors swapped 1,100 shares at the €1.064 level.
Elsewhere, Grand Harbour Marina recouped almost all of its previous session's losses, when an investor effected a single transaction of 1,000 shares.
Interest in Maltapost was restricted to just two deals with 3,066 shares executed at the previous closing price of €0.83.
FIMBank suffered a similar fate when two transactions with an aggregate volume of 2,219 shares passed in rapid succession, maintaining the price unchanged at $1.88.
International market report - weekly round up
A sense of deepening gloom over global growth and inflation kept most equity markets on the defensive while oil prices shrugged aside a boost in production from Saudi Arabia.
European stocks were cramped by a contraction in eurozone manufacturing and services sector activity. Despite gains in pharmaceutical and oil stocks alleviated some of the pain, it was financials who continued to extend their decline.
A number of downgrades hurt financials along with deepening worries of more losses in the second half of the year. All major European indices closed lower with the FTSE 100 shedding 1.58 per cent. Germany's Xetra Dax lost 1.65 per cent while the CAC 40 was down by 1.79 per cent.
Wall Street stock markets flickered between gains and losses as data showing continued weakness in the US economy along with a warning from Citigroup about further write-downs offset a rally in materials and technology stocks.
Still it was the trivials of the banking sector that weighed heaviest on equity markets, driving the S&P 500 lower by 1.18 per cent. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial average was down 1.81 per cent while the Nasdaq composite dropped by 1.17 per cent.
In Asia, stocks hit a three-month low as weak Japanese data and worries over inflation and high oil prices continue to erode sentiment. Japan's Nikkei fell by 2.18 per cent while Honk Kong ended lower at the 22,455.67 level.
This article has been prepared by Bank of Valletta p.l.c. (the Bank), which is licensed to conduct investment services business by the MFSA, for your general information only. This information is not a solicitation or offer by the Bank to acquire or sell securities. Nor does it constitute any form of advice by the Bank. Appropriate advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance and the value of your investments may fall or rise.